Project Inshore MSC Pre-Assessment Database

Challenges. The fishery faces challenges that are likely to inhibit its ability to gain certification under a full assessment.

Conditions Likely. The fishery is likely to attract conditions following a full assessment which may limit its ability to achieve certification.

Recommended. The fishery is recommended to proceed to MSC full assessment.

Database Disclaimer - Please read carefully

This database is an output of Stage II of Project Inshore which
provided an MSC pre-assessment of key English Inshore fisheries. It
provides only brief commentary and should therefore be viewed in
conjunction with the Stage II report, which provides a more
comprehensive rational of scoring and explanation of the MSC
scoring process.

Where a fishery is shown not to meet the requisite MSC pass
mark, this does not necessarily mean that the fishery is
unsustainable or that the resource is over exploited. Often there
is simply insufficient information to determine outcome status or
management processes may not be structured to allow informed and
adaptive decision making. By contrast where a fishery is shown to
meet the MSC standard, this is merely a pre-assessment indication
of likely outcome of full assessment - it does not mean that the
fishery is certified.

Scoring and supporting commentary was undertaken in early 2013
and therefore the database provides a snapshot of probable MSC
scores at that time. No primary scientific research was done as
part of this project, so statements about status and impacts of
fisheries are typically drawn from other sources. These are fully
referenced in the supporting report.

This database is designed to assist the interpretation of the
Project Inshore Stage II report. It is most likely to be of benefit
to fisheries managers to identify potential strengths and weakness
in the management system. It may also provide a useful indication
to fishermen and processors about the state of readiness of a
fishery to enter the full MSC assessment process. This is not
intended as a tool to steer consumer seafood choices.

A pre-assessment does not go into the level of detailed and
rigorous scrutiny, which is undertaken as part of a full MSC
assessment. For this reason, it cannot be guaranteed that every
last issue in relation to all fisheries have been identified, or
that the outcome of a full assessment process can be predicted with
absolute accuracy. There may be some fisheries that under closer
examination and more rigorous argumentation could achieve higher
scores than indicated in this pre-assessment, but by contrast some
other fisheries may, under closer examination, score below the
levels described here.

Many of the scores are generic, and apply across many
fisheries, where the same issues are likely to influence scoring.
Scoring commentary is narrowly focused on the MSC scoring
guideposts, so are not intended to provide an overall description.
Not all fisheries have been visited by the assessment team, or
scrutinised in detail, but the scores are nonetheless
representative of similar fisheries so should provide a useful
indication of likely MSC outcome.